HUGH DESMOND HOYTE, S.C. NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEECHES VOLUME 2 18th December 1973 - 10th September 1980 i Hugh Desmond Hoyte, S.C. National Assembly Speeches Volume 2 Compiled by Maurice B. Henry for the National Assembly, Parliament of Guyana, 2012. This edition © The Caribbean Press, 2014 © The National Assembly of Guyana Cover design by Peepal Tree Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without permission. ISBN 978-1-907493-82-9 ii PREFACE On the death of Mr. Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, President, on 6th August, 1985, Mr. Hugh Desmond Hoyte, Prime Minister, acceded to the Office of President. Following the 9th December, 1985 General Elections he was declared President. As his Biographical Summary shows, he held several Ministerial Offices including Vice-President and Prime Minister prior to these dates. Following the General Election held on 5th October, 1992 Dr. Cheddi Jagan was declared President on the 9th October. Mr. Hoyte became Minority Leader and he held this office until his death on 22nd December, 2002. This collection of his Parliamentary Speeches over the years 1969 to 2001 is the first step taken in keeping with the Fourth Resolved Clause of Resolution No. 67 dated 7th August, 2008 of the National Assembly, which states – “Be It Further Resolved: That this National Assembly calls on the Government to designate a State Institution to be responsible for Historical Research and Documentation to chronicle and archive all of the works of each of the Presidents of Guyana for the benefit of future generations of Guyanese.” These speeches are recorded in four volumes as follows: (i) Volume I - National Assembly of the Second Parliament of Guyana, 1969 – 1970 National Assembly of the Second Parliament of the Republic of Guyana, 1970 – 1972 (ii) Volume II - National Assembly of the Third Parliament of the Republic of Guyana, 1973 – 1980 (iii) Volume III - National Assembly of the Fourth Parliament of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, 1981 – 1985 National Assembly of the Fifth Parliament of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, 1986 – 1992 iii (iv)Volume IV - National Assembly of the Sixth Parliament of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana , 1992 – 1997 National Assembly of the Seventh Parliament of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana , 1998 – 2001 National Assembly of the Eight Parliament of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana , 2001 – 2006 Volume III of these speeches contains Mr. Hoyte’s addresses to the National Assembly on the Ceremonial Opening of the First and Second Sessions of the Fifth Parliament of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. *** A number of Official Reports (Hansard) of the Proceedings of the National Assembly are missing for the years 1969 – 2002. Some of these contained speeches of the Late Hugh Desmond Hoyte, and it seems unlikely that these will ever be recovered. iv Biographical Summary: Hugh Desmond Hoyte was a former President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, former Leader of the main Opposition Party, the People’s National Congress (PNC) and former Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Guyana. Born in Georgetown, Guyana in March 9, 1929, Mr. Hoyte received B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of London. He was a British trained lawyer, a Barrister-at-Law of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and a Member of the Guyana Bar. He was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 1969, which designation was changed to Senior Counsel in 1970 when Guyana became a Republic. Between 1969 and 1984, Mr. Hoyte held many Ministerial offices, including those of Home Affairs, Finance, Works and Communications and Economic Development and Co-operatives. In 1980 he was appointed a Vice President and in 1984 he became First Vice President and Prime Minister. On the death of the first Executive President of the Republic Mr. Hoyte served as President of the Republic from August 1985 to October 1992. During his Presidency, he initiated far-reaching electoral and economic reforms which strengthened the bases of the democratic culture of Guyana, promoted market oriented policies, and stimulated economic growth. As a Minister of Government, he had at various times responsibility for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) affairs under the Lomé Convention v and was the ACP spokesman on sugar from 1981 to 1983. His portfolio also included Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Affairs. As a member of its Conference, the Heads of Government of CARICOM charged him with responsibility for promoting freedom of movement within the Community and for coordinating CARICOM’s policy on the environment for the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, and in general. He was also nominated CARICOM’s spokesman on sugar. Prior to his full-time service as a Government Minister, he held many other public offices. He was Chairman of the Legal Practitioners’ Committee, a statutory body which deals with disciplinary matters relating to members of the legal profession; Chairman of the Timber Grants Wages Council; Chairman of the Customs Tariff Appeals Tribunal; and a member of the Elections Commission, among other offices. He was also deeply involved in the Trade Union Movement and was Legal Adviser to the Trades Union Congress and several member Unions. In his ministerial capacity, Mr. Hoyte served as Guyana’s Governor on the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank and headed many delegations to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; the Caribbean Committee for Development and Cooperation; the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meetings; ACP/EEC Meetings; and other regional and international conferences on economic, financial and developmental issues. He was Guyana’s chief representative at the deliberations which led to the establishment of the Latin American Economic System (SELA), and was a member of the Latin American Council from 1975 to 1983. He had maintained a strong interest in regional and hemispheric affairs and spoke and wrote widely on this subject. Mr. Hoyte had a keen interest in ecological and environmental matters. In this area, he had worked closely with the London-based Commonwealth Human Ecology Council and had written and spoken on these issues, both locally and internationally. He was the architect of the Iwokrama International Rainforest Project in Guyana, which he initiated at the 1989 Commonwealth Heads of Government conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Mr. Hoyte was a Life Senator and a member of the Supreme Council of the Presidency of the International Parliament for Safety and Peace, which has observer status with the United Nations; a member of the Advisory Board of the Women’s Federation for World Peace; and an honorary member of the Board of The Americas United Foundation. He was also a Patron of the Errol Barrow Memorial Trust Fund (a regional Trust established in honour of the late Barbadian Prime Minister) and a Patron of the Commonwealth Human Ecology Foundation based in London. Mr. Hoyte, who was married to the late Mrs. Joyce Hoyte and had two children who predeceased him, died on 22nd December, 2002. vi Contents: PREFACE ....................................................................................................... iii BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY ..................................................................... v NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE THIRD PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA: 1973-1980 Motion on the Approval of the Estimates of Expenditure for 1974 in Committee of Supply: 18th December, 1973 ....................................... 3 Motion on the Second Reading of the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation Bill 1974: 10th April, 1974 ............................................10 Motion on the Approval of Financial Paper No. 2/1974: 3rd July, 1974 .......................................................................................... 14 Motion on the Second Reading of the Debentures (Special Provisions) Bill 1974: 9th October, 1974 ............................................. 17 Motion on Contract Between Guyana Timber Export Board and Iraqi Ports Administration for the Sale of Greenheart: 9th October, 1974 .................................................................................. 19 Motion on the Approval of the Estimates of Expenditure for 1975 - Budget Debates: 12th December, 1974 .................................................20 Approval of Estimates of Expenditure for 1975 In Committee of Supply: 16th December, 1974 ............................................................... 34 Motion on the Second Reading of the Vesting of Property (Acquisition by Purchase) Bill: 23rd May, 1975 ...............................43 Financial Paper No. 1/1975 In Committee of Supply: 28th May, 1975........................................................................................ 50 Motion on the Second Reading of the Widows and Orphans Pension (Amendment) Bill 1975: 28th May, 1975............................................56 Motion on the Approval of Financial Paper No. 2/1975 ........................... In Committee of Supply: 25th June, 1975 ...........................................58 Motion on the Approval of the Estimates of Expenditure for 1976 Budget Debate: 1st December, 1975 ..................................................... 62 Motion on the Approval of the Estimates of Expenditure for 1976 In Committee of Supply: 2nd December, 1975 ................................... 72 Motion on the Approval of the Rent Control (Special Provisions) (Amendment)